Decorah’s Deep Secret
Strange shale in northeast Iowa led researchers to a startling discovery—a massive, millions-year-old crater buried deep below Decorah. But the secrets keep coming—the crater preserves some of the best fossils ever found on Earth from the mid-Ordovician period.
By Sam Samuels
Photos By Jake Zweibohmer and Clay Smith

Iowa’s Greatest Outfitted Adventure
Join writer and novice paddler Jen Wilson as she and other volunteers remove 10 tons of trash, five 30-yard-long bins of scrap metal and 259 tires—in one day. It’s just a sample of the week-long flotilla of amped-up fun and camaraderie all for cleaner rivers.
By Jen Wilson    Photos by Clay Smith

Esprit de Corps
A dedicated, diverse group of young conservationists are making a big difference in parks one blister at a time—just as their CCC predecessors did 80 years ago.
By Karen Grimes    Photos by Brian Button

One Foot In The Water
Declining mussel populations and vanishing species have biologists scouring Iowa rivers looking for answers for this oft overlooked, yet remarkable animal.
By Mindy Kralicek    Photos by Clay Smith   

Myth Busters
Do squirrels sweat to stay cool? Learn why you can still feel hot if the weather is cooler than your core body temperature.

Outdoor Skills
Unstick your stuck canoe, learn how to take nighttime meteor shower photos and know your tadpoles.

Together
Forge relationships on the ropes; win $50 for fishing or hunting; get healthy and fit with H2O; discover the difference between a mussel and a clam; plan a destination wedding sans airfare at Honey Creek Resort State Park and run to benefit Beeds Lake State Park.

Lost In Iowa
Slip on down to Decatur County where two parks—one state, one county—have visitors returning for more.

My Backyard
Junk that junk mail; know the warnings of harmful blue-green algae; get online help for better tree planting; bucket the flow and save some dough; buy local and cut energy costs.

Wild Cuisine
Sunday’s best walleye and venison at Tursi’s Latin King—an east-side Des Moines institution since 1947.

Flora & Fauna
Unravel mysteries of the remarkable freshwater mussel.